Promessa
by KitsuneMiyuKendraHyuga
Summary: Non-Massacre. "Itachi still isn't back from his mission…" When a certain ANBU captain proves that he always maintains his promises. Especially when they concern Sakura. Ninth (and last) of my Italian story-arc.


A/N: ninth and last instalment of the Italian saga, after "Rapimento E Ritorno". It's not strictly indispensable to read the others first, but it surely helps.

This is the epilogue of the story-arc, and it takes place a few years after the events of the previous one-shot.

I decided to write this because of a review from SomebodyLost, so… I hope it turned out nicely.

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There was a knock on the door. Sakura recognised the chakra signature of the visitor and called, "Come in!" She calmly dried her hands after chopping some vegetables for dinner and turned around to greet her teammate.

Shisui bounced into the kitchen, with his trademark grin in place. "Hey Sakura-chan! Where is my nephew? I have a present for him!"

Kazui came out from the living room with an excited squeal. "Really, uncle Shisui? Can I see it, please?"

Sakura smiled, while Shisui grinned and gave the little boy a small parcel. Kazui, after properly thanking him, opened the present. Inside there was a brand new set of kunai and shuriken. The three-year-old happily hugged his new weapons and thanked his uncle once again. After Shisui explained some tricks to him about how to use them properly, he took the tools into his bedroom.

Shisui grinned at Sakura then. "So, where is Kazui's proud father?"

He instantly regretted his words when he saw the pink-haired woman's expression fall a little. Avoiding his gaze, she muttered, "Itachi still isn't back from his mission…"

Shisui sighed, completely understanding how she felt.

When Itachi and Sakura had begun dating, some years before, Shisui and Genma, their teammates, had been really happy for them. However, even if the Uchiha and the Haruno had been cautious in their relationship at first, it quickly became serious. And there was the problem that they were in the same team, squad Alpha of the ANBU, so there was the risk of a conflict of interests. Luckily, Tsunade had decided not to separate them, because she knew how well they worked together, and it would have been foolish to break up such a skilled squad.

So Itachi and Sakura had been able to remain on the same team, even after they had married. It had been a quiet and simple ceremony, because it was already clear to them that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.

They continued their ANBU missions for months, and there were never any problems. Only when the pink-haired woman had become pregnant did Itachi insist she take a break from the missions. Even if reluctantly, Sakura had agreed, but only with the promise to go back to the team as soon as the baby would be old enough.

So in the last year and a half Sakura had worked mostly at the hospital and sometimes with the interrogation unit, where she was well acquainted with Morino Ibiki. Itachi, since his team was without a medic and he refused to accept anyone else who wasn't Sakura, received less missions with his squad and more solo missions to foreign lands.

Right then, he had been sent on a mission to the land of Waterfall; he had been gone for more than a month now, and that was why Sakura was so worried. Today, it was Kazui's third birthday, and Itachi had promised her he would be back for that day.

He had _promised_.

But he wasn't there.

Shisui cleared his throat to get Sakura's attention, since she had been spacing out. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan, Itachi will come back soon. After all," he added, smirking and lifting his eyebrows suggestively, "he needs to get some after all this time, right?"

A few years before, Sakura would have turned crimson and pounded Shisui right through the wall. Now, however – and after many broken walls during the years –, she simply lifted an eyebrow and fixed the Uchiha with a calm death glare. "Shisui…" she said, flat voice with a hint of a warning.

Shisui immediately took a step back. "Geez, Sakura-chan, don't take it so seriously! You sound exactly like him! You're really spending too much time together…"

This time, Sakura was indignant. "I would sincerely hope so, Shisui-baka, since we're _married_!"

Shisui just shook his head and held up his hands in a calming gesture. "Fine, fine. I'll go home now. Bye, Sakura-chan."

The pink-haired woman nodded to her teammate and dismissed him with a wave. As soon as he was gone, she sighed heavily.

Itachi was not there with her, on their son's birthday. Kazui would definitely be disappointed later, when it was time to go to bed, not seeing his father for the whole day. Sakura knew that.

Sighing again, the young woman finished preparing the evening meal and set the table. It was a warm spring day, so she opened the window to allow a little breeze to enter the kitchen. She looked at the garden, where all her favourite flowers grew, and smiled softly. It was colourful and tidy, and she absolutely loved it. There were also many little birds flying in there. One of them came surprisingly close to the pink-haired medic who was at the window.

With another smile, Sakura observed the little bird closely. She froze.

It was a raven.

Before she could do anything, a strong pair of arms encircled her waist and a voice murmured in her left ear, "Happy birthday, Sakura…"

The woman turned around in the arms of her husband, who had his chakra signature completely hidden as usual, and embraced him tightly. "Itachi…" she breathed out.

Yes, their son Kazui had been born on the 28th of March, which was Sakura's birthday as well. Their teammates didn't know, but Itachi was well aware of it.

And he would not miss that occasion, ever.

They stayed in each other's arms for a while, Sakura happy to have him at home at last, and Itachi enjoying the feeling to be with her again.

Then the raven-haired Uchiha released his wife from the embrace. "Let's call Kazui to dinner, shall we?"

Sakura nodded and said, quite loudly, "Kazui, come to dinner, darling. There's a surprise here for you…"

Their son came to the kitchen, curiously. As soon as he spotted his father, he let out a delighted scream, "Otou-san!" before jumping straight into his arms.

Itachi allowed a rare smile to grace his lips, while he picked up his son and kept him close.

The ANBU captain wished him a happy birthday and asked him if he had behaved in his absence.

At that, Kazui shifted a little. He was a clever boy, and knew better than to lie to his parents.

"Most of the time, I did, Otou-san. But this morning I was a bit sad 'cause you weren't here, so I was pouting." Then his expression brightened. "But then Kaa-chan hugged me and told me something that was my best present ever!"

The little boy's expression was excited, and Itachi regarded him with amusement, together with a little curiosity. What had his wife said to Kazui?

The boy correctly guessed his father's question, and smiled brightly at him. "She told me that in a few months I will have a little brother or a little sister!"

To say that Itachi was surprised was an understatement. His black eyes shifted to his wife, who was standing next to the cooking stove with a warm pie in her hands. Sakura blushed prettily, put the pie on the table and allowed one hand to rest casually on her still flat abdomen. Her eyes were twinkling, and they met her husband's with complete happiness.

Itachi's eyes warmed and he said, affectionately, "That's wonderful news, Kazui!"

The little boy continued chatting and his father, after meeting his wife's eyes with a secret smile in them, dedicated him his complete attention. After all, it was Kazui's birthday, Itachi had been away for more than a month, and they had little time to spend together before it was time for the boy to go to bed. Husband and wife would speak to each other later.

During dinner, Sakura smiled the whole time.

Itachi was back in time. He had kept his promise to be there for their birthday.

She should never have doubted him.

After all, when had he ever broken a promise?

And suddenly, Sakura's mind went back to a few years before, when they had agreed to give a try to their relationship. Itachi had promised her that he would make it worth it.

Well, Sakura mused, looking at her husband and her son and resting a hand on her slowly growing belly, that was certainly a promise he had kept.

And with all his heart.

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A/N: so… here we are. All done. The Missione Seduzione universe is now closed.

Some clarifications:

Sakura and Itachi were able to remain on the same ANBU team because in my opinion they are sensible people, and when they are on missions they focus completely on it. That means that they are capable to maintain their personal life separated from the work they have to do.

Itachi and Sakura's son, Kazui, was born on the same day Sakura is, so they share the birthday :) I thought it was a cute idea. Hey, it's a fanfic! ;-)

"Promessa" is in Italian and it means "promise".

I really, really hope you enjoyed this story-arc. It was fun for me to write, and I honestly thank you very, very much for taking the time to read it.

Until next time,

KitsuneMiyuKendraHyuga


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